Press Releases
TPB Awards $544,430 to MCDOT for Call-n-Ride Taxi Service That Provides Enhanced Mobility for Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities
For Immediate Release: Monday, January 22, 2018
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) received $544,430 in federal funding from the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments for its Call-n-Ride taxi service, which provides taxi trips for low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities. The two-year grant will allow MCDOT to reduce the monthly co-pay for the lowest income Call-n-Ride participants, which comprise 85.7 percent of program users.
“I am very proud of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s efforts to seek ways to further enhance mobility for our older adults and persons with disabilities,” said Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. “Access to transportation is a key element in Montgomery County’s Age-Friendly Initiative, which is enhancing opportunities for residents to thrive and achieve their full potential.”
Call-n-Ride is a County-subsidized transportation program that provided 125,595 trips in fiscal year 2017 to seniors and persons with disabilities. The lowest income program participants receive a $120 per month subsidy that is loaded onto a swipe card. The card can then be used for taxi service with all taxi providers in the County. The TPB grant will allow MCDOT to reduce the lowest income program participants’ co-payment each month from $10.50 to $5.25.
Montgomery County also provides other transportation services to seniors and individuals with disabilities, including:
Ride free on MCDOT’s Ride On bus system and Metrobus weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. With a Senior SmarTrip card or a Metro Disability ID card, fares at all other times are half price.
Free, curb-to-curb transportation to senior centers and some community centers for those living within the center service areas.
Connect-A-Ride, a free information and referral service helping people find transportation options for medical services, errands, social activities and more. An escorted transportation pilot project provides service based on income.
Administering the Medicaid transportation grant that in fiscal year 2017 provided 78,808 free transportation trips for Medicaid covered medical appointments.
The TPB selected just 17 local projects to receive a total of $6 million dollars in federal funding under the Federal Transit Administration’s Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program, removing barriers to transportation service and expanding transportation mobility options for these communities. An additional $1.8 million dollars in matching funds is provided by the grantees, bringing the total funding for the projects to $7.9 million dollars.
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Media Contact: Esther Bowring 240-777-7170